A $5,000 grant for playground equipment in the town of Owasco is on a list of member items reviewed by the state attorney general that have been labeled as rejected or incomplete, but town officials are hopeful they can still secure the funds.

The funds had been appropriated in the 2006-2007 budget as a member-item through state Assemblyman Brian Kolb's efforts, but the attorney's general office said that as of Thursday, no paperwork had been received to release the money.

“This office reviews every single member item,” said John Milgrim, a spokesman for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. “Agencies administer the contracts, and our office deals with the agencies, who forward them to our office. Until we see it, we don't see it. As of right now, there is no contract that has been sent to the attorney general's office from the town of Owasco.”

The town appeared on the AG's list despite being sent a notice about the missing paperwork in May. The town didn't respond to that notice, though, because of confusion over a separate grant.

Town Supervisor John Klink said Owasco received a letter a couple of weeks earlier from the Department of State dated May 9, addressed to former town supervisor Michael O'Leary.

It said the town had not requested payment from the $5,000 designated for an Owasco community project, which was supposed to expire July 2007.

The letter said the funds had been reappropriated with a new deadline, July 31, 2009.

The town mistakenly believed that letter referred to the money for playground equipment. Lauren Rivera, of the Department of State, said her agency was referring to a 2004 grant for $5,000 to pay for an engineering report related to wastewater transmission. Her office did receive Owasco's application to extend the time limit for that grant.

Klink said he would contact the attorney general's office to see if the town can still take advantage of the 2006-2007 member item money for the playgrounds, but the project is moving forward.

Under each grant, the town has to spend money first and is reimbursed by the grant money after submitting vouchers.

The town had already budgeted $15,000 for new playground equipment at its two playgrounds, one on Owasco Road and the other in the hamlet of Owasco at Twelve Corners. The supervisor considered the grant money a windfall because he was not aware of it. The funds were secured during the previous supervisor's term.

The town is ready to begin construction on the playgrounds, which includes removal of some old equipment and installation of new items. The construction work will be done by town highway department employees.

Regardless of the grant situation, Klink is pleased the town can provide updated parks for its residents.

“We put a lot of money into our playgrounds,” he said. “This is one of the services that local governments are supposed to provide.”

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net